Russell Reynolds Associates Hires Jim Underwood

Russell Reynolds Associates, a global leadership advisory and search firm, announced that Jim Underwood has joined the firm as a member of the Consumer Practice. Based in Los Angeles, Underwood works closely with C-suite-level executives to build and advise leadership teams with a focus on the consumer, digital and media industries.

"Jim's leadership experience at some of the world's most prominent social media, entertainment and financial services companies positions him to provide our clients with 'first-person,' strategic advice around talent recruitment, assessment and development," said Constantine Alexandrakis, leader of Russell Reynolds Associates' Americas Region. "Within volatile and fast-moving environments, Jim has successfully led global teams to design and implement game-changing strategies. He has also partnered with clients to build future-focused executive teams."

Prior to Russell Reynolds Associates, Underwood worked at Facebook, where he served in several roles, including Global Head of Entertainment Strategy. In this role, he shaped the company's strategy for working with entertainment advertisers and advised clients on approaches to best leverage Facebook as a marketing platform. Previously, Underwood was with Sony Pictures for more than 10 years, where he most recently ran Sony Pictures Home Entertainment's digital transactional business. He also ran the studio's corporate development function after holding a range of business development roles in support of film, television, digital and music services. He began his career in finance at Morgan Stanley in Chicago and has held corporate development roles in the software industry in Boston.

Underwood holds a BA in finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from Harvard Business School.